It is always tough when you lose someone who has been in your life the entire time. Losing Dad in 2004 was one of the hardest moments in my life but I still had a parent left. And now I have none. But, as the saying goes, you can only rely on death and taxes. One you can cheat, the other you can't. Mom had a rough patch several years ago but we found her a great place to live out her life in an assisted living facility. She resisted the idea at first, but then she got cozy and comfortable. She threatened us in case we were thinking about moving her again because she knew every hallway and every person. She made all the staff feel like they were her child and many of them hugged me after she passed away and told me stories about how sweet she was to them. And stories about how she tried to get them to buy her some wine. lol
She wasn't always the easiest to deal with but she was a fierce fighter when it came to watching over her family and there is nothing she wouldn't have done for any of us. She lived a good life even through it's trials and tribulations. She lost her brother in the war when she was a teenager. Her mom passed away when she was young. Her father died when she was less than 30 and then her daughter (child #3) died in an accident in 1985. All of these were tragic events but she did her best to continue on. And at 87 years old, she still talked about all of them. Actually, in the past several months, she talked about talking with them recently. So the angels were already lining up to help her get through her final stage.
I may write more later. But, for now, I am sad that she is gone, yet happy that she lived for as long as she did.